For Chile, roared on by their raucous fans, there is a feeling of momentum building in this World Cup. Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images

The link between the miserabilist Mancunian songwriter Mark E Smith and the freewheeling Dutch side of this World Cup may not be immediately apparent, but the title of The Fall’s 1988 album I Am Kurious Oranj might be an apt moniker for the exploits of the gloriously unpredictable Holland at this intoxicating World Cup.

First came that thrilling 5-1 evisceration of Spain, then a curate’s egg of a performance against Australia – slipshod in defence but with enough speed, skill and luck in attack to come from behind to record a 3-2 victory. As ever with the Dutch at major tournaments, no one is quite sure what to expect next.

With Arjen Robben flying and Robin van Persie at his arrogant, imperious best they will go head to head with a Chile side fast emerging as one of the hits of the tournament to decide who tops the group. However, Van Persie will be missing having picked up two bookings – as well as three goals – in his opening two games. The PSV Eindhoven striker Memphis Depay, a possible target for Tottenham Hotspur, is expected to deputise.

Nor will Chile be at full strength. The coach, Jorge Sampaoli, is considering leaving the Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal and Charles Aránguiz, who scored one of their goals and made the other in their thrilling 2-0 victory over Spain, on the bench. Vidal, only recently recovered from knee surgery, has a sore achilles and Aránguiz has sprained his right knee. Both players are also on yellow cards.

Predicting the outcome of group B was never going to be easy, but few suspected that Holland and Chile would both go into the final game with maximum points and Spain would be facing off with Australia for the wooden spoon.

game at the Arena Corinthians in many ways epitomises everything that has thrilled about this World Cup so far: two swift, fearless attacking sides – one from South America and one from Europe – who have lit up the group stages and now face off to win the group.

Where the football in South Africa four years ago was largely grey, stodgy and off-key, in Brazil it has been exciting, unpredictable and broadcast in glorious Technicolor. The onus will be on Chile to target victory, with the Holland coach, Louis van Gaal, knowing that a draw will be good enough to top the group given their superior goal difference.

The fact both teams have already qualified is likely to give the clash the air of a celebration as the raucous Chileans and garish Dutch pour into the crowded streets of São Paulo to add colour to the hitherto hardest to please of Brazil’s World Cup host cities.

But there is much at stake. Whoever tops the group will avoid Brazil in the second round and instead face Croatia or Mexico, with a theoretically easier quarter-final – against Costa Rica or the runners-up in group C (likely to be the Ivory Coast) – to follow.

“If you look ahead a bit, in theory you are better off than if you come second,” said a bubbling Van Persie, who added that he would like to face Brazil but just “a bit later” in the tournament.

The team that finishes second is likely to face Brazil, though given the form of the hosts to date that fate does not hold the fear it once did, and then the prospect of Colombia, Uruguay or Italy in the quarter-finals.

Such has been their flying start that is easy to forget that this Dutch side arrived in Brazil with many question marks hanging over them. But Robben, playing with an intelligence to add to his natural skill and pace in the best period of his career, and Van Persie have helped their young team-mates – many based in the domestic league – quickly find their feet.

They almost stumbled against Australia and it will be intriguing to see if Van Gaal sticks with the 5-3-2 system that worked so well against Spain or starts with the 4-3-3 he reverted to at half-time against the Socceroos to rescue the game.

For Chile, roared on by their passionate fans, there is a feeling of momentum building. Sampaoli has insisted he is not getting carried away, which is more than can be said of those inside the Maracanã during the victory over Spain or the huge crowds that partied the night away in Santiago. But he perfectly summed up their performance afterwards, lauding his side’s “authority, intensity, bravery”.

The midfielder Carlos Carmona said they would concentrate on stopping the Dutch switching the ball from defence to attack as swiftly as they were able to do to such devastating effect against Spain.

“Robben is very fast and the team is playing well,” added Francisco Silva. “To counter their speed we’ll have to have a balanced game and close spaces.”

There is little chance of the Dutch, who will wear an orange kit for the first time in the tournament, taking the challenge lightly. “They looked fit, they looked strong, they played together,” said Van Persie of Chile’s performance against Spain. “So we’ve got a big task. It will be very hard to at least draw against them.”

Given the gung-ho attacking, liquid breaks and occasionally suspect defending of both sides, one might expect a high-scoring game. At this most unpredictable of World Cups, probably safest to predict a 0-0 draw then.

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